My name is Toryal and I am the apprentice of Darth Baras and right now I am cursing myself for being such an idiot. I thought that I had everything that I could ever want: power, respect and a command of the force that was nearly unrivaled.

I would give it all away in an instant if giving it away would save Vette.

I still remember the first time I met her. She had been captured after sneaking into one of the tombs on Korriban. The first time that I saw her she was in a cage in the academy's detention center and was being tortured by one of the academy's guards. Of course I didn't speak to her, I was focused on my task but I couldn't help but feel bad for her. She was being forced to wear a shock collar.

I still remember how full of anger I was back then. I still remember how I felt it was beneath me to bring her with me into the tomb to complete my final trial. I thought as a sith I was invincible, that I did not need the help of a common thief.

She proved me wrong.

That Twi'lek proved herself nearly a dozen times in the tomb of Naga Sadow by saving my life and helping me get through the traps that littered the tomb. At one point I was knocked out by another apprentice in the tomb. Vette could have fled but instead she decided to stand her ground and protect me. She was able to slip a blaster bolt past the other apprentice's guard and take him out. She stayed with me until I woke up.

I couldn't believe it. On Korriban it was usually kill or be killed and Vette could have escaped and left me to die but she didn't. When I asked her why she saved me she hesitated for a moment and told me that she didn't want to be stuck alone on Korriban without an ally. At first I believed her, but later on I began to have my doubts.

She was the first person on Korriban who I felt I could trust. To be honest, she was the first person I felt I could count as a true friend.

With Vette's help I was able to finish my trial and ended up becoming Darth Baras's apprentice. I remember traveling to Dromund Kaas with her and laughing at some of the things she said. She told me once as we were traveling though the jungles that she wanted to have a statue built in her likeness one day. I told her I would think about it.

If building her a statue would save her life now I would do it without a second thought.

I still remember the look on her face when Darth Baras told us that we would be recieving a ship. She was excited, even more so when she found that she had her own room to sleep in. I can't say I blamed her, what passed as beds in the korriban detention center weren't exactly comfortable and the shuttle to Dromund Kaas was packed with imperial troops so we really didn't have anywhere to sleep.

We ended up traveling to the war-torn planet of Balmorra. I almost lost her a few times on Balmorra. For the first time since my training on Korriban...I was afraid. Afraid that I would lose the first true friend I had. Eventually though, we completed our tasks and ended up heading to Nar Shaddaa with a new addition to the crew.

His name is Malavai quinn and I loved watching him and Vette argue. Once in awhile, Quinn would find himself the victim of a prank. Of course there was no evidence that Vette was the prankster we knew it was her. After all, there were only two people on the ship besides myself.

Eventually, we arrived on Taris. In the time between Balmorra and Taris we had yet another new crew member join our crew. She was a jedi named Jaesa Willsaam who had the unique ability to detect a person's true nature. She was a threat to my Master's spy network and he ordered us to draw her out. Eventually I ended up confronting her master, a jedi by the name of Nomen Karr. During the battle with Master Kaar he began to fall to the darkside. When Jaesa arrived, she was able to detect the darkness within her master.

She decided to join us after seeing what her Master had become. And I was glad she did. Finally, Vette had someone other than Quinn to talk to. At times I would see them walking around the ship together.

For the first time in quite awhile, I felt at peace. I'm not going to lie, I know that I am different from most of the other sith within the Empire. I don't belive that rage and destruction and killing those weaker then you are acceptable traits one should have. I belive that peace and restraint are better traits to posses.

But than came Taris.

Taris is a nightmarish planet that is home to some of the most fearful creatures in the galaxy. They call them Rakghouls and they have the ability to infect others and turn them into rakghouls themselves. Thankfully we managed to avoid infection and managed to complete our mission on Taris. But as we made our way back to the shuttle, something horrible happened.

A small squad of republic troopers were waiting in ambush for us just outside of the imperial garrison. I don't know how but they somehow managed to shield their presences from me. It was possible that they had had training to deal with sith but it doesn't really matter now.

Vette managed to hit the ground as a barrage of blaster bolts went over her head and I instantly ignited my lightsaber and sent a few of the bolts back towards the republic troops. I was forced to hit the ground as a somewhat smaller barrage of bolts were fired in my direction. I was able to get back on my feet and instantly hit the remaining solders with a blast of force lightning.

I'm not going to lie, I was tired after having to draw on the force to hit the remaining solders with lightning but the first thing I did was look to make sure that Vette was alright.

What I saw nearly made my heart stop.

There was a blaster wound on her arm that looked serious but what nearly made me break down was that somehow she had taken a blaster bolt to the stomach. For a moment I hesitated.

The next thing I remember is carefully picking up Vette and calling on the force to run as fast as I could. I was still tired and using the force to help me go faster wasn't helping much. I was running as fast as I could but I could sense that Vette was running out of time. I remember the guards staring at me as I can past them and boarded the shuttle. I must have looked strange, a Sith Lord carrying a twi'lek.

I managed to get abord the shuttle that was located at the Imperial garrison and ordered the pilot to head for my personal ship. I remember breathing heavily and trying to stabilize Vette. The moment we docked with the ship I ran to the med-bay and called Jaesa to try and help her.

Even now, I'm watching Jaesa trying her best to heal her but I can't help but feel despair. I was trained from early on to fight and kill, not to heal. My only hope for Vette is Jaesa. Right now the force is the only thing that can save Vette.

Toryal looked hopeful as the door to the medical bay opened and Jaesa slowly walked out. She looked exhausted but there was a small smile on her face.

"Please...Jaesa, tell me that shes going to be alright. Tell me you were able to do something for her."

Jaesa slowly nodded. "It took quite a bit of work but I think she's going to be alright. She's going to be stuck in bed for quite awhile with her injuries but the blaster wound to the stomach was the most severe."

Toryal nodded and looked at the bed the Twi'lek was laying on. It looked like she was sleeping. "I...I'm glad she's alright."

Jaesa looked over at Toryal as he headed back for the bridge but even she could see that there was a bit more spring in his step not to mention a large smile on his face.

I wonder...Jaesa thought as she watched Toryal head for the bridge.

((If I continue this I think I'll only do one more chapter. Please let me know what you think.))

I could vividly picture all the planets and situations that our heroes faced in my mind. You have managed to turn a character I initially found annoying into someone endearing, and that's no small feat! More, please!

((First off, thanks for the review Mach, I really appreciate it. And thanks to MrsFicwriter for taking a look at it.))

Hyperspace

I can't believe this is happening, Toryal thought as he shook his head in despair. "Jaesa I thought you said that you stabilized her! Whats happening to her?!"

Jaesa reached for a scanner and scanned the twi'lek who was shaking violently and was having trouble breathing. "I don't know...She was fine an hour ago!" Jaesa shot back, forgetting that she was speaking to a sith lord but Toryal didn't care. He watched as she continued to scan her. Jaesa was muttering under her breath as she continued to try and figure out what was wrong with Vette.

"Hold on...the scanner seems to have found something...It appears that there's some sort of toxin present in her system. This is impossible! I checked her an hour ago and there was nothing!"

Toryal looked past Jaesa and looked at the newest addition to their crew, Lt. Pierce who had joined them on Taris. Toryal stared at him and reached out with the force. "Pierce...did you have anything to do with this?" He asked quietly as he waited for an answer. If Pierce had anything to do with what had happened to Vette..."

"No my lord. I was busy checking the weapons systems on the ship."

Toryal nodded, sensing that the man was telling the truth. He already knew that it wasn't Jaesa and the droid 2V-R8 was the one who had alerted them to Vette's condition. And that left only one person who could have done this...

"Quinn..." He said quietly. His disbelief was rapidly being replaced by pure rage. He could feel the darkside rising up in him as he slowly turned towards the stairway that led to the bridge.

Jaesa could feel the rage building in him and she knew that she had to do something. If he were to fight in his current state she knew that there was a very good possibility that the bridge controls could be destroyed, knocking out power to the entire ship including the medical bay, or worse, the loss of power could knock them out of hyperspace and leave them stranded in space.

"My lord..." She said quietly. "Think before you act. Think about what Vette would want you to do. She wouldn't want you to kill Quinn in a blind rage, I know she wouldn't."

Toryal took a deep breath and attempted to rid himself of the rage that he was feeling but it was proving very difficult. As a sith he had learned that rage was a source of strength but Jaesa's words made sense. If he killed Quinn in a fit of rage then it was possible Vette would never be able to forgive him.

Jaesa gently took his hand and moved him towards one of the medical bay beds and sat him down. "I can help you. On the rare occasion I've lost my temper the jedi code has helped me. I know that as a sith you don't believe in the ways of the jedi but this may help you control your rage."

Jaesa sat down and crossed her legs and began speaking in a soothing tone of voice.

"There is no emotion, There is peace
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge
There is no passion, there is serenity
There is no chaos, there is harmony
There is no death, there is the force"

Toryal took a look at Vette's body which had stopped shaking but it looked like she was still having trouble breathing.

Fight it Vette...Keep fighting...

Toryal got down on the floor next to Jaesa and began to repeat the words of the Jedi Code despite feeling the urge to go to the bridge and slam Quinn's face into a bulkhead.

"There is no emotion, There is peace
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge
There is no passion, there is serenity
There is no chaos, there is harmony
There is no death, there is the force"

Toryal's fist slowly opened and closed as he fought against the rage he was feeling. He closed his eyes and repeated the code in his mind again and again as he tried to keep his anger under control.

Toryal could feel his rage slowly vanishing as he repeated the code over and over and as he felt the calming influence of Jaesa as she sent waves of calming and soothing influence through the force.

The Sith Lord took a deep breath and opened his eyes and looked over at Jaesa and nodded. "Keep an eye on Vette. I need to deal with Quinn. If anything changes with her condition let me know at once."

"Yes my Lord."

Toryal got to his feet and and took a last look at Vette. A very small smile appeared on his face as he watched Jaesa get to her feet and began to work on Vette. He knew that the Twi'lek was in good hands. The smile slowly vanished as he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and left it on one of the medical bay beds before turning and heading for the bridge.

Malavai Quinn didn't turn around as he heard the sound of an igniting lightsaber. He didn't smile or draw his weapon to defend himself. In fact, the only thing that he did was sigh heavily.

"I didn't want to do it you know."

Toryal walked closer to him and deactivated his lightsaber. He should have known that he couldn't intimidate Quinn but he had to know why he had done what he had done to Vette.

"Why then? What possible reason could you have had for attempting to murder Vette? I know that you two have had your disagreements and you were often annoyed by her lack of protocol while we spoke to Darth Baras but still...I thought you considered her a friend Quinn. I thought you thought of her as a member of this crew!"

Toryal's voice rose as he advanced on Quinn who didn't move an inch. "Vette saved my life more times than I can count Quinn! She saved your life more than once when we were on Taris! Why did you do it?! Why did you try to kill her?!"

Quinn's voice remained calm and even. "Her death was ordered by Darth Baras shortly after we left Taris."

Toryal's eyes widened in shock. "Why?" He asked quietly

Quinn's gaze never left Toryal. "I wondered that myself when I was first contacted by him. He told me that she was becoming a distraction to you, she was becoming a risk. A tool that our enemies would use against us."

Quinn's gaze hardened. "My lord...I disagreed with him at first. I told him I thought she should be dropped off on a populated planet somewhere. A place where she would be safe. But Darth Baras was adamant: She had to die. He knew as well as I did, that you would tear the galaxy apart to find her. As far as Baras is concerned, she is a threat to you."

Toryal's hand clenched into a fist.

"Imagine for a moment my lord, if you had to make a choice between saving Vette's life or killing a high ranking member of an enemy force, which would you choose?"

Toryal narrowed his eyes.

"You would have chosen to save Vette even if it meant letting a victory slip through your fingers. I do not wish to kill Vette my lord, but if a situation like that arises I know what you will choose to do."

Toryal's hand shot out and gripped Quinn's arm. He had to fight to resist the urge the crush the bones in his arm. He could hear Jaesa's words echoing through his mind: Think before you act. Think about what Vette would want you to do. She wouldn't want you to kill Quinn in a blind rage, I know she wouldn't.

"Quinn...right now you can thank the woman that you poisoned for your continued existence. Vette would never forgive me if I killed you in cold blood, but I want you to understand one thing: From this moment on, you will be watched. You are forbidden to go near Vette until she is fully recovered. You are no longer allowed to carry a sidearm unless I say otherwise."

Toryal leaned closer to Quinn and smiled darkly. And if you ever receive an order from Darth Baras you will tell me or I will make sure that you are demoted and posted on Tatooine for the rest of your natural life. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes my lord."

Toryal let go of his arm and turned without another world and headed for the medical bay, leaving Malavai Quinn feeling lucky that he was still in one piece. Truth be told, he had never met a sith like Toryal and he still didn't know what to think.

Toryal hadn't slept in two days, he also hadn't left the medbay since he had warned Quinn to stay away from Vette. He hadn't meditated or spoken to any other member of the crew other then Jaesa who had been checking on Vette every two hours. He hadn't eaten anything or drank anything.

Jaesa walked into the medbay and sighed heavily as she watched her Master stare down at the floor. Whever she entered the medbay Toryal would either be watching Vette or staring down at the floor.

"Master..." She said quietly as she sat down next to him. "I told you yesterday that she is out of danger. I'm not going to kick you out of the medbay but I think you should either get some sleep or meditate even if it only is for a short while. You can't keep going like this."

Toryal shook his head. "It's my fault this happened. I should have known that Baras wouldn't allow anyone to interfere in his mission against the republic. I should have realized that his reach extended to our crew."

Jaesa sighed again. "Master...he won't be able to do anything like this again. Quinn is the only one who had contact with Baras. I checked the communications logs and no one else has had contact with him."

"I know."

"We both know that I would never do anything like this and I doubt that Pierce would do anything like this either. You've made sure that Quinn can never try to pull anything like this again."

"It's not the crew that I'm worried about. The galaxy is full of dangers and I know that I can't protect her from them."

"Master...you seem to forget that Vette is a strong, clever woman. She survived on her own for many years before she met you. She managed to save your life more times then I can count. You need to realize that she can look after herself and defend herself."

Toryal sighed heavily and looked over at Vette and Jaesa noticed a small tear forming in his left eye. "When I think of Vette...I just want to shield her, protect her from everything and I don't know why."

Jaesa's eyes widened slightly in shock as she heard Toryal's words. Her Master was nothing like the other sith that she knew but still, to hear words like that put a sudden thought in her mind.

Is is possible that he's in love with Vette?

The tear rolled down his cheek and hit the floor without a sound and Toryal smiled slightly as he watched as Vette's eyes fluttered once but remained closed.

"When I think of Vette...of the countless ways shes saved my life...I can't help but feel the need to make sure that she's happy and safe."

"Master..." She asked cautiously. "I know that it isn't my place to ask but...is it possible that you may be in love with Vette? I know she's been with you longer then the rest of us and I know that you have a bond with her."

Toryal had had three days to think on that question and he still didn't have an answer for either Jaesa or himself. To be honest, he didn't know what to think. He knew that he cared for each member of the crew and would gladly fight an opponet to the death if it would save them if they were in danger, even Quinn despite the fact that he was responsible for Vette's current state.

He knew that the bonds that existed between himself and the crew went beyond the typical bonds between a sith and a slave. No...the bonds were almost like those of a family.

But his bond with Vette was something else. And he still didn't know what it was. She had been the first person in the galaxy that he felt he could trust and the first real friend that he had. She had had so many opportunities to betray him and run but she hadn't.

He looked down at the twi'lek and a small smiled formed on his face as he watched her sleep. Jaesa had told him yesterday that her treatments had finally driven the poison from her body and that all she needed was rest. Toryal leaned against the kolto-tank in the corner of the room and thought back to his first few days on Korriban.

He had been a power hungry fool back then. He had thought that despite being an alien he was above everyone else and that the life of a slave was worthless.

The more he thought about what kind of dark creature had had been back then the more it sickend him. The more he thought of the lives he had taken in cold blood, the innocents he had tortured...it made him despise himself.

"What am I worth?" he thought to himself, he was so lost in thought that he didn't realize he was muttering what he was thinking.

"I'd say your worth quite a bit."

Toryal shot up and knocked his head against the kolto-tank and muttered a curse before looking down at the smiling face of Vette.

"Vette..." he said quietly. "I...I'm sorry, I should have known th-."

"You don't need to apologize. And I know it was Quinn that poisoned me. He must have found my stash of juma and added something to it. I...remember him bringing me a bottle of Juma while I was recovering from that blaster wound I got on Taris. He told me it was a reward for a job well done on Taris...I remember feeing this pain going through my body and the last thing I saw was him leaving the medbay.

Toryal moved over to the bedside and grinned. "Don't worry, I took care of Quinn. I told him that if he ever tried something like this again I would kick him off this ship and leave him on Tatooine. He's also no longer allowed to carry any sort of weapon while onboard."

Vette laughed. "Wow. I really wish I could have seen the look on his face when you said that. Looks like the high and mighty Quinn got taken down a few pegs."

Toryal smiled again. "Yes...if he wants my trust back he's going to have to earn it back.

Toryal was about to say something else when he felt a soft touch on his hand. He looked down and saw that Vette had grabbed his hand. She was looking up at him with a strange look on her face.

"You know...when I drank the poisoned juma...when I felt the toxin spreading though my body...I could only think of one thing: Will I ever see Toryal again?"

A tear was forming in Vette's left eye. "I was so scared when I thought that I might die without seeing you again."

Toryal found that he couldn't speak but his eyes never left Vette's. "Please...Just tell me you thought the same thing when you thought I was going to die. Just let me know you feel the same way."

Toryal stood still for a moment...he didn't know what to say. Vette however...didn't wait for an answer. Toryal suddenly felt her other hand pull him down towards her and his eyes widened as he felt her lips press against his.

It was the most glorious sensation he had ever felt in his life.

Toryal found himself returning the kiss and once it was over he looked down at her and she smiled again. "I guess I have my answer." Vette said with a large grin on her face.

Unknown to the two of them, Jaesa had been walking by just as Vette had awoken. She was going to check on her but instead she had seen something that had filled her heart with hope.

I'm glad to see that those two have found some happiness. she thought with a smile on her face as she turned and headed for the cargo bay to grab some supplies.